Hillary Clinton: 'I don't believe' I have ever lied

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, who struggles with perceptions of dishonesty in polls, said Thursday that she doesn't believe she has ever told a lie and vowed to do her best to be honest going forward.

Jimmy Carter famously pledged to the American people: "I will never lie to you." Clinton didn't quite go there when asked during an interview with CBS News if she could give a similar promise.

"You're asking me to say, 'Have I ever [lied]?' I don't believe I ever have. I don't believe I ever have. I don't believe I ever will. I am going to do the best I can to level with the American people," Clinton told anchor Scott Pelley.

Clinton also faced some questions about honesty during MSNBC's Democratic town hall in Las Vegas Thursday night.

See images from Thursday night's town hall:

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Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at Las Vegas town hall

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Hillary Clinton: 'I don't believe' I have ever lied

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
The town hall discussion focused on issues affecting Nevada and the Latino Community was held just two days before Nevadas First in the West presidential caucus onÂ Saturday, February 20, 2016.
/ AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI (Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Hillary Clinton at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
The town hall discussion focused on issues affecting Nevada and the Latino Community was held just two days before Nevadas First in the West presidential caucus onÂ Saturday, February 20, 2016.
/ AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI (Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
The town hall discussion focused on issues affecting Nevada and the Latino Community was held just two days before Nevadas First in the West presidential caucus onÂ Saturday, February 20, 2016.
/ AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI (Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Hillary Clinton at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
The town hall discussion focused on issues affecting Nevada and the Latino Community was held just two days before Nevadas First in the West presidential caucus onÂ Saturday, February 20, 2016.
/ AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI (Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
The town hall discussion focused on issues affecting Nevada and the Latino Community was held just two days before Nevadas First in the West presidential caucus onÂ Saturday, February 20, 2016.
/ AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI (Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Hillary Clinton at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
The town hall discussion focused on issues affecting Nevada and the Latino Community was held just two days before Nevadas First in the West presidential caucus onÂ Saturday, February 20, 2016.
/ AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI (Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
The town hall discussion focused on issues affecting Nevada and the Latino Community was held just two days before Nevadas First in the West presidential caucus onÂ Saturday, February 20, 2016.
/ AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI (Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, who struggles with perceptions of dishonesty in polls, said Thursday that she doesn't believe she has ever told a lie and vowed to do her best to be honest going forward.

Jimmy Carter famously pledged to the American people: "I will never lie to you." Clinton didn't quite go there when asked during an interview with CBS News if she could give a similar promise.

"You're asking me to say, 'Have I ever [lied]?' I don't believe I ever have. I don't believe I ever have. I don't believe I ever will. I am going to do the best I can to level with the American people," Clinton told anchor Scott Pelley.

Clinton also faced some questions about honesty during MSNBC's Democratic town hall in Las Vegas Thursday night.

"It is obviously troubling that people have questions about me, which I will do my best to answer," Clinton said. "So people are really asking, 'is she in it for herself or is she in it for me?' I've always been somebody who believed and raised in my family and my faith that I, with my blessings, had an opportunity and an obligation to do what I could to help others. And that's what I will do as president."

In Iowa, where Clinton squeaked out a narrow win in the state's caucuses earlier this month, the former secretary of state earned the support of only 10 percent of voters who said honesty was their most important quality in choosing a candidate, according to entrance polls (83 percent of those voters went for rival Bernie Sanders).

A new national NBC News poll found that Democrats picked "honest and trustworthy" as the most important characteristics they're looking for in a candidate in the Democratic primary, though it was followed closely by "has the right experience," which likely favors Clinton.

Clinton and her allies have alleged that she is held to a different standard when it comes to honesty than other politicians because of her gender and long history in politics. They have also started making the case that it is Sanders who is deceiving supporters by promising pie-in-the-sky policies like single-payer health care, which they say will never pass.